Push for tighter Sudan arms embargo with China, Iran, Russia, Serbia, UAE, and Libya in crosshairs

Members of Sudans armed forces take part in a military parade held on the occasion of Army Day in Port Sudan on 14 August 2024. (AFP)

The United Nations Security Council is to review its arms embargo on Sudan on Wednesday.Human Rights Watch claims there are new weapons from Chinese, Iranian, Russian, Serbian, and Emirati manufacturers in Sudan.China and Russia deny selling arms to warring factions in Sudan.

High-tech weapons used to remotely attack civilians are fuelling the war in Sudan, and lobbyists hope the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will extend an existing arms embargo on Khartoum.

On Wednesday, the council is due to consider a 2004 embargo that covered militias without affecting state actors. 

Since the civil war began in April 2023, more than 15 000 people have been killed and more than 8.2 million displaced in what is now the worst displacement crisis in the world.

In the face of such alarming figures, Amnesty International said in July, the existing arms embargo on Darfur was clearly ineffective because a constant supply of weapons was keeping the conflict alive.

A nationwide arms embargo would help address these problems, Human Rights Watch argued in its latest report on the war.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found that both sides in the war were directly targeting civilians.

In response to the report findings, the European Union added its support to the renewal of the arms embargo for fear for the stability of the entire region.

Foreign support

Past reports and investigations claim that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti) is mainly supplied from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Libya.

Footage of thermobaric shells captured by the rival Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) suggests that the UAE supplied arms to RSF.

The UAE denied supplying arms when probed by the United Nations. 

RSF is reported to get its vehicles, particularly the iconic Toyota Landcruiser from Libya.

Sudan’s armed forces or SAF falls under the de facto head of state, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. 

Al Burhan attended the just-ended Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing as one of the invited heads of state.

China is the world’s second-largest arms producer and fourth-largest arms exporter.

In June this year, China and Russia, both members of the United Nations Security Council, were accused of violating the existing embargo. 

Both countries denied the allegations.

New weapons

After analysing footage and pictures on social media, HRW established that the warring parties in Sudan’s war had since acquired the latest versions of weapons from Chinese, Iranian, Russian, Serbian, and Emirati manufacturers.

HRW identified armed drones, drone jammers, anti-tank guided missiles, truck-mounted multi-barrel rocket launchers, and mortar munitions manufactured by companies registered in those countries.

READ | Both sides in Sudan are guilty of rape and torture, says UN mission, calling for peacekeepers

Jean-Baptiste Gallopin, senior crisis, conflict, and arms researcher at HRW said “newly acquired weapons and equipment are likely to be used in the commission of further crimes.”

In one of the videos from a pro-SAF social media page, HRW said it verified “drones attacking unarmed people in civilian clothes” in Bahri, or Khartoum North, one of Khartoum’s twin cities.

“One video, posted to X by a pro-SAF account on 14 January, shows a drone dropping two mortar projectiles on apparently unarmed people in civilian clothes as they cross a street in Bahri, killing one person on the spot and leaving four others motionless after the explosions.”

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

ADVERTISEMENT